Baidu shares tumble most since May on report Google to launch censored search app in China
Baidu’s 7.7 per cent slump in New York trading is the steepest since the announcement in May that chief operating officer Lu Qi was stepping down
Baidu Inc., which operates China’s dominant search engine, slumped the most in more than two months in Nasdaq trading on the prospect that Google may be seeking to re-enter the world’s biggest internet market with a censored product that meets China’s requirements.
Beijing-based Baidu tumbled 7.7 per cent to US$228.07 as of the close of trading on Wednesday. That is the steepest drop since May 18, when the company announced chief operating officer Lu Qi has stepped down from management. Lu, a former Microsoft executive, was one of the key hires by Baidu to spearhead its push into artificial intelligence.
Google plans to launch a censored version of its search engine in China, marking a major shift in strategy for the US internet giant nearly a decade after it exited the world’s second largest economy over Beijing’s strict censorship rules, according to a report by The Intercept.
The final version of Google’s modified search app, which will blacklist sites on human rights, democracy, religion and other issues deemed sensitive by the Chinese government, has already been shown to authorities and is now pending approval, according to the online news publication, which cited people familiar with the matter and internal Google documents.